Reaching Out

August 2, 2002|By Faran Fagen Special correspondent

DELRAY BEACH — Youth coach Glynn Hollis, coordinator of the Carver Estates Young Men Mentoring program, and Delray Police Officer Terance Scott passed out fliers in June about a trash cleanup followed by a pizza party later that day.

About 25 children out of the 400 living in Carver Estates, a low-income housing complex, showed up, ready to get dirty in support of their neighborhood.

It was the inaugural event for Carver Kids of Character, a program started by the Delray Beach Housing Authority and Delray Beach Police Officers Scott, Michael Coleman and Sgt. Javaro Sims. They plan to bring police into the community as mentors, provide structured after-school activities and reward the children with prizes for community service.

"We want to be friends with the parents and children, so we can sit down with them and help them solve problems," Scott said. "We'd rather do that than chase someone into a fence. I'd rather prevent a crime than arrest someone for committing a crime."

Anita Edwards brought five of her 15 grandchildren to the cleanup.

"It's a great program, as long as we keep the kids involved," Edwards said. "Most of the time, when the kids leave from the after-school program, they're bored and agitated and start fighting. I wish we could get some parents out here to see the kids be encouraged by the police department."

Tainesha King, 12, and Jazmen Coleman, 11, two of Edwards' grandchildren, hope to win a CD player through community service. A CD player, a bicycle and Sony Playstation 2 are some of the top prizes.

"We get to help people who need help, like older people," Tainesha said. "My mom thinks it's better than getting in trouble."

"Or staying home and watching TV," added Jazmen.

"But you've got to have a good attitude," Officer Coleman told them. "If you have a bad attitude and 1,000 points, then you probably won't be able to get anything."

Bridget Huff, housing project site manager for Carver Estates, who helped bring Carver Kids of Character to life, is hoping the program will be a boon to the 200 families she oversees at the complex at 770 SW 12th Terrace, east of Interstate 95 and south of Atlantic Avenue.

"It's like a mentoring program to help keep the kids out of trouble and keep them involved with something," Huff said. "It's a drug prevention-type program.

"This is not a bad community," she said. "We deal with a lot of people who need housing and we help them out."

"We want to increase the high school graduation rate with various programs throughout the year," Sims said. "We want to show the kids that it's not necessarily where you grow up or where you live, but it's important where you end up."

Carver Kids of Character also plans to sponsor rap sessions in which police officers and residents discuss issues, a Career Day and field trips to visit professionals and see what they do. The children will be taught fundamentals every Monday through sports and other activities and will visit the Pompey Park swimming pool on Tuesdays. They will learn about computers at the new computer center at Carver Estates, which was funded by the government's Weed and Seed Program.

Some Weed and Seed money is expected to help fund the Kids of Character Program. For now, the program is funded with $7,000 from the Delray Beach Housing Authority, according to Dorothy Ellington, executive director of the Housing Authority.

"With this program we can serve all the kids because it's a program without walls, an incentive program," Ellington said.

While getting Kids of Character started, Sims, Coleman and Scott have gotten to know the neighborhood children. Some of them now laugh and smile, instead of giving the officers wary glances.

"They're trying to help you figure out what education you want ... ," Tainesha said.